Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert (July 1, 1941 – August 19, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ranger", he played right wing on the GAG line (Goal-A-Game line) with Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982, and was the first player in Rangers history to have his number retired. After his playing career, he became president of the Rangers' alumni association.
| Rod Gilbert | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1982 | |||
 Gilbert with the New York Rangers in 1960 | |||
| Born | July 1, 1941 Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Died | August 19, 2021 (aged 80) New York City, New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| Playing career | 1960–1978 | ||
| Website | www.rodgilbert.com | ||
Early life
editGilbert was born in Montreal on July 1, 1941, the son of Alma, a homemaker, and Gabriel Gilbert, a blacksmith.[1] He grew up a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.[2] He played three seasons for the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1957 to 1960.[3] In his final year with the team, Gilbert slipped on some garbage strewn on the ice and fell back into the boards, breaking a vertebra in his back and temporarily paralyzing him.[4][5] Corrective surgery went awry and led to hemorrhaging in his leg, and doctors feared amputation would be necessary, but Gilbert recovered.[6]
Playing career
editAfter finishing his junior career with the Guelph Royals, Gilbert joined the Rangers near the end of the 1960–61 NHL season. He soon became popular with the Rangers' fans, and he rose in prominence as an NHL star. However, it was not without pain. In 1965–66, his career was nearly derailed when he went through a second spinal fusion operation.[7] This surgery was performed by Dr. Kazuo Yanagisawa. Gilbert was out of action for half a season, but he bounced back in 1966–67 and scored 28 goals.[6] On February 24, 1968, he scored four goals in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Ratelle-Hadfield-Gilbert line, called the GAG line, proved formidable for years.[6] He played with Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1976 for his perseverance over his back troubles.[8]
At the beginning of the 1977–78 NHL season, Gilbert and Rangers' General Manager John Ferguson got into a contract dispute.[6] He was released by the Rangers on November 23, 1977 after starting the campaign with two goals and seven assists in 19 games.[9] He would retire after the season, his eighteenth in the NHL. His number 7 was retired by the Rangers on October 14, 1979, the first number to be retired by the team.[10]
Post-playing career
editAfter retiring from professional hockey, he became head coach of the American Hockey League New Haven Nighthawks for the 1980-81 season. Gilbert opened his own restaurant, 'Gilbert's,' on Third Avenue near 75th street in Manhattan.[11] He subsequently worked for Fundamental Brokers on Wall Street, assisting the company in opening a branch in his hometown of Montreal. He returned to the Rangers organization in August 1989. There, he acted as director of special projects and community relations representative, as well as president of its alumni association.[11] From 2017 onward, he made upward of 30 appearances a year on behalf of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, an outreach program that works with children in the community.[2]
Personal life
editGilbert married Judith Christy in 1991, in a ceremony conducted by New York mayor David Dinkins.[12] Combined, they had four children together, Holly, Brooke, Chantal and Justin, and seven grandchildren. Chantal and Justin from his first wife, Judith Linton from Crawfordville Florida. Linton was a stewardess for National Airlines at the time.[13] He was one of ten athletes who were featured in American artist Andy Warhol's 1979 Athlete Series of paintings, which featured prominent sports figures from the 1970s. Others in the series include O. J. Simpson, Chris Evert, and Pelé.[14]
Gilbert died in Manhattan on August 19, 2021. He was 80 years old.[13][15]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1957–58 | Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters | OHA | 32 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters | OHA | 54 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 40 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 1959–60 | Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters | OHA | 47 | 39 | 52 | 91 | 40 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1959–60 | Trois-Rivières Lions | EPHL | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1960–61 | Guelph Royals | OHA | 47 | 54 | 49 | 103 | 47 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1960–61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | New York Rangers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1961–62 | Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers | EPHL | 21 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1962–63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 34 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1967–68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1968–69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 66 | 28 | 49 | 77 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 65 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 1971–72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 64 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1974–75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 36 | 50 | 86 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Rangers | NHL | 77 | 27 | 48 | 75 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,065 | 406 | 615 | 1,021 | 510 | 79 | 34 | 33 | 67 | 43 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Canada | SS | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | |
| 1977 | Canada | WC | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | |
| Senior totals | 15 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 21 | |||
Awards and honors
edit- Named to the NHL second All-Star team (1967–68)[1]
- Named to the NHL first All-Star team (1971–72)[1]
- Won Bill Masterton Trophy (1976)[1]
- Won Lester Patrick Trophy (1991)[16]
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977)[1]
- Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982[1]
- Has his No. 7 retired at Madison Square Garden, the first Ranger to receive the honor.[15]
- Awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2010, in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.[17]
Records
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Rod Gilbert Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ a b Kreda, Allan (April 2, 2017). "One Team, 406 Goals, a Million Stories: Mr. Ranger Is Still Making Fans". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "Rod Gilbert Hockey Stats and Profile". HockeyDB. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Tarzan the clown turns 85 | GuelphMercury.com". GuelphMercury.com. Guelph Mercury. April 2, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ Malinowski, Mark (September 25, 2011). "Rod Gilbert | The Hockey News". The Hockey News. The Hockey News. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Fischler, Stan (2015). New York Rangers: Greatest Moments and Players. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 37. ISBN 9781613218259. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ Kreiser & Friedman. The New York Rangers: Broadway's Longest Running Hit. Sports Publishing LLC, 1996
- ^ "Silverware -- 1975-76 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Winner -- Gilbert, Rod -- Legends of Hockey". www.hhof.com. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ Herman, Robin. "Rod Gilbert Is Released By Rangers," The New York Times, Friday, November 25, 1977. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ Price, Bill (January 13, 2006). "Hadfield Numbers Among Mess Fans". NY Daily News. NY Daily News. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Kimelman, Adam (February 20, 2009). "Gilbert's long and winding path back to Rangers". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ Kennedy, Kostya (April 20, 1998). "Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers right wing January 30, 1967". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Paybarah, Azi; Jiménez, Jesus (August 22, 2021). "Rod Gilbert, Hockey Hall of Famer Known as Mr. Ranger, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Andy Warhol (1928-1987), The Complete Athletes Series". www.christies.com. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "Rod Gilbert, Hall of Famer for New York Rangers, dies at 80". Associated Press. August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Lester Patrick Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Gilbert honored for service to America". New York Rangers. May 13, 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Panarin has goal, 2 assists as Rangers handle Caps 5–2". Associated Press. March 30, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Devils 03.04.21". New York Rangers. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "NHL Roundup – Penguins Beat Rangers to Clinch Playoff Berth". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 19, 1995. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- Total Hockey (Second Edition), Editor - Dan Diamond, ISBN 1-892129-85-X
- Hockey Stars of 1969 by Stan Fischler
- Hockey '75 by Hal Bock
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Rod Gilbert's official web site (archived from 2005)